Snap-hook.



No.a a,60s; PATBNTED MAR.26, i907;

J. H. READ.

I SNAP HOOK. APPLICATION FILED APR. 21, 1906.

WITNESSES:

Ja wme INVENTOR,

A TTORNE Y5 JOSEPH H. READ, OF BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY.

SNAP-HOOK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 26, 1907.

Application filed April 21, 1906. Serial No. 313,063-

To all whom it 71710 concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH H. READ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Burlington, in the county of Burlington and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Snap-Hook, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to snap-hooks; and its object is to provide a compact and durable device of this character having means whereby a ring or other device engaged thereby will be securely held against accidental displacement.

Another object is to provide a hook which will form a substantially closed ring about an object engaged thereby, it being impossible to open the ring except by the manipulation of a device provided for that purpose.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of a hook having a groove in its inner or concave face on which is pivotally mounted the hooked end of a lever adapted to extend across the mouth of the hook.

j A keeper in the form of a curved strip is pivoted in the groove and is adapted to be contacted at one end by the hooked end of the lever when the snap-hook is closed. When the parts are in this position, the keeper is held projected partly across the mouth and cannot be removed therefrom except by swinging the lever outward, so that its hooked end will move the keeper back into the groove.

The invention also consists of certain other novel features of construction and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown the preferred form of my invention.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the snap-hook closed. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the same open, one of the positions of the lever and its hook being shown by dotted lines; and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the shank and its hook.

Referring to the figures by numerals of refan ejecting-lever 5, terminating at one end in an outwardly-turned extension or grip 6 and at its other end in a hook 7, which when the lever 5 is resting in closed position upon the hook lies within the groove with its exposed face flush with the concave face of the hook 3.

Located within hook 3, diametrically opposite the pivot 5 of lever 5, is a pivot-pin 8, which extends across groove 4 and constitutes the fulcrum of a keeper 9', preferably in the form of a semicrescent. The end por, tion 10 of the keeper overlaps the end of hook 7 and is interposed between it and the inner wall of groove 4. When said hook 7 is seated flush with the concave surface of hook 3, the

large end of the keeper is partly projected from the groove 4 and partly across the mouth of said hook 3, thereby forming practically an uninterrupted ring for holding a suitable object.

Should it be desired to place a ring in the snap-hook, the lever 5 is swung away from the mouth of hook 3, and its hooked end 7 will slide along the keeper 9 and force the projecting portion thereof back into the groove, thereby clearing the mouth and permitting a ring to be placed within the hook 3 and the hooked end 7. After the ring has been inserted the lever 5 is moved back into closing position, and therefore the end 7 thereof will slide back over the small end of the keeper 9 and into groove 4. This will result in the projection of the large end of the keeper from said groove and across the mouth of hook 3, and the ring will therefore be encircled by said hook and the keeper. Should pressure be exerted against the keeper in any direction, it cannot be moved, because retained by hook 7, all pressure being so directed upon said hook by the keeper as to cause the lever to bear all the harder against the shoulder 2. To eject a ring from the snap-hook, the lever 5 is swung to open the hook, and its end 7 will carry the ring outward therewith. A small opening 11 is preferably formed in hook 3, near the overlapping ends ofhook 7 and keeper 9, to allow dirt and moisture to pass therethrough from the hook.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is- The combination with a hook having a groove in its concave surface; of a curved keeper pivoted, and adapted to lie'entirely within the groove, a lever fulcrumed in the end of the hook, and adapted to extend across the mouth of the hook, and a hook i In testimony that I claim the foregoing as upon the lever overlapping the keeper, sarcl i ny own I have hereto aflixed my signature lever-hook being adapted, when the lever 1s I 111 the presence of tWo Witnesses.

in position across the mouth, to depress one I JOSEPH H. READ. end of the keeper into the groove and project ltnessesz the other end thereof into the mouth of the I ELMER WV. ANDERSON,

first-mentioned hook. JAMES WV. SILPATH. 

